I don’t always think my teammates understand that I have hearing loss. It’s because hearing loss is invisible. But I live with it every moment.
Hearing Aids Cost Thousands. A State Program Helped Me Pay for Them.
What changed things was a program almost nobody talks about: state vocational rehabilitation. Every state has a version of this department, just under a different name. The idea behind all of them is the same: If a disability is standing between you and a job, the state will help remove it. Hearing loss counts. Hearing aids count.
Saying Yes to Hearing Better
Hearing Health Is the Missing Metric in Preventive Care
Although it’s one of our most important connections to the world around us, most people don’t routinely monitor changes in their hearing, track exposure to excessive noise, or include hearing screenings as part of their regular preventative care.
The Music Inside My Head
My brain now makes up music with a drone tone mostly in the key of D, pounding rhythms, melodies, and harmonies often in different keys.
A Primer on Buying Hearing Aids
While you can buy OTC hearing aids without a test, or use free online screening tools, I strongly recommend a comprehensive, in-person exam. A professional evaluation includes a physical inspection of your ears to catch hidden medical issues.
Are String Telephones the Answer?
In theory, advanced hearing aid features are laudatory for sure, but what about affordability? Aren’t advances in technology supposed to lower prices, not increase them?
Hearing Is the Glue That Holds Families Together
I encourage families to pay attention not only to whether a loved one can “hear,” but whether they are fully participating in life.
Scrappy and Determined From the Start
When the doctor confirmed I had a hearing loss, I felt like a failure. Years later, my older sister pointed out our mother felt the same way. “How did I miss that?” my mother had wailed.
From Shock to Sound: Our Family’s Cochlear Implant Journey
When Lucile was little a lot of parents would say to us, “Oh, she has such good manners. She looks you right in the eye.” They didn’t realize she was just very much focused on their faces and lips as they were talking!